Best Possible Booking Scenarios for Lana After Eventual Split from Rusev

The writing is on the wall—sooner or later, Lana is going to end up splitting away from Rusev and moving on to do her own thing in WWE.

This could happen as early as the upcoming Payback pay-per-view, or it could not come to fruition until later on in the summer months, but it is being hinted at already and will undoubtedly occur at some point.

It's not a question of if, but when, and that isn't even the most important thing to ask when thinking of the situation. The true question is whether or not WWE has any solid plans for Lana post-breakup.

There are plenty of opportunities in WWE to succeed, ranging from on-screen characters to workers behind the scenes. Even someone like Joey Styles transitioned from the commentary booth to working in the web division rather than just being left with nothing to do.

That being said, it can be assumed that C.J. Perry wouldn't be abandoning the Lana character for some desk job at the corporate headquarters, so what could The Ravishing Russian be up to next?

Backstage Interviews

One of the easiest answers to that question is to use Lana as a backstage interviewer in some capacity, talking to various Superstars and Divas.

So far, she's made a name for herself through her mic work and her looks, which are two aspects that wouldn't be lost in this new job.

This isn't a necessity, as there are no gaps to fill and plenty of interviewers already in WWE, but that doesn't mean there's no room to reshuffle a few people.

For instance, Renee Young is seasoned enough and more than ready to move on past backstage interviews, so she can take a spot on the commentary team, continue to host panels and so forth.

In the meantime, Lana could help pick up the slack of being the second- or third-string interviewer as someone like Byron Saxton moves up the ranks.

This is a role that WWE has thrown random people into time and time again, so it shouldn't be a surprise if we see Lana continue to hold a mic in this capacity.

Credit: WWE.com

Host of a Show on WWE.com or WWE Network

A similar but alternative situation to doing backstage interviews would be to give Lana some sort of program for her to host either on WWE's website or on the WWE Network itself.

Young has her new Unfiltered show and her fellow broadcaster Corey Graves has Culture Shock, so Lana could be given a segment of her own.

What that could revolve around is up to the ideas floating around in the brains of the creative team, but one suggestion that would probably not clash too much with what WWE is going for with these shows would be something about Lana experiencing American culture.

To go from a character that does nothing but rag on the United States to someone who is supposed to be cheered by the crowd would need a little explaining to do as well as a period of making amends. Why not have Lana basically learn what it's like to be an American and all of the great things that we have to offer?

Is it the most exciting thing in the world? Possibly not. However, is it something relatively cheap to film while traveling around the country and a means to keep her character evolving? You bet.

Lana's personality is a big one, but it's in need of a shift to something different. It would do her a disservice to put her in a position where she couldn't show off her skills, and hosting a show that revolves around her is the perfect means to do that.

Credit: WWE.com

Paired with a New Wrestler

By some chance, if WWE wants to be rather lazy about what to do with Lana, the easiest solution is to simply pair her up with another wrestler, and she can manage him instead of Rusev.

As a general rule of thumb, managers are best utilized when they can help bring something to a wrestler that he or she is missing—normally mic skills.

One name that immediately comes to mind is Cesaro, who has all of the talent in the world in the ring but has never been able to create a persona that fans can truly sink their teeth into.

He's not the worst person ever to cut a promo, but there's more than enough room for improvement, and having Lana do a good portion of that work for him could be what takes him to the next level.

Another talented ring-worker with a lack of mic skills is Jack Swagger. That would certainly be an interesting pair, considering Lana's former anti-American stance and Swagger's patriotic background.

Zeb Colter hasn't been on television in months, and as a result, neither really has Swagger, so a new manager wouldn't be a crazy thought.

Then there's Damien Sandow, who should be in a great position right now after detaching himself from The Miz, but WWE has yet to capitalize on any of that momentum. The more time is wasted dawdling, the harder it will be to take him in a positive direction on his own.

If Sandow cannot be trusted as a solo act for whatever reason, pairing Lana up with him could result in some entertaining back-and-forth.

Let Lana Loose in the Ring

It can be assumed that after all this time in WWE, she's had at least some training between the ropes, seeing as how it's a wrestling company.

If she's good enough to handle herself in the ring, why not just introduce Lana properly into the Divas division as a wrestler?

The #GiveDivasAChance campaign doesn't seem to be slowing down, and WWE would be smart to utilize every woman at its disposal in as many ways as possible, so there's no real reason to deprive Lana of the chance to participate in the action unless she's horrendous at it.

Credit: WWE.com

Getting her hands dirty would only warm the audience up to her even more, as the crowd could have a reason to cheer her on for something other than doing Fandango's dance or twirling around on the stage.

One way or another, Lana has been getting a very positive reaction as of late—even more so than normal—and if WWE plays the right cards, she could end up being a rather big star in the company.

There are plenty of directions to go after leaving The Bulgarian Brute behind, and fans of Lana should not fret whatsoever over what's to come in the future.

Do you have any suggestions for what WWE should do with Lana? Tell us your predictions and booking ideas in the comments below!

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.